WAR BUSINESS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2448, 29 April 1915, Page 8

WAR BUSINESS

TRADE BOOM IN AMERICA. The war means colossal business for tbe United States, where contracts representing hundreds of millions of dollars havo been given bj tho belligoieiits. The manufacture of arms and ammunition for foreign governments steadily increased for nioro than a year prior to tho beginning of the war. At present it is estimated that the exportation approximates 1,000,000 tlollard worth of war materials a month. In October it was 1,645,21S dollars. In June, 1918, Russia purchased 84!)3 dollars worth of arms and ammunition in America.' This liguro was increased iu the following June to 617,024 dollars, before the declaration of war. The Pittsburg Foreign Trade Commission asked manufacturers there for prices on 1,000,000 drop forge shells for use by British artillery. The value of the contract was 4,000,000 dollars. The New York "Herald" reports that in Bridgeport it is estimated that 4,000,000 dollars worth of new building is now under way to take caro of excess war business, and that since August more than 25,000,000 dollars worth of war orders bave been liled there. At the great steel works at Bethlehem the war departments are being rushed night and day, filling orders for England, It is calculated that so far war material worth at least 12.000,000 dollars has been shipped. This does not mean only shrapnel shells, but big guns, too. "When tbe war began the steel company was fulfilling contracts for about 1,500,000 dollars worth of coast defence guns for Chili, about 3,000,000 dollar® worth of armament for Argentine torpedo boats and battleships, and ako contracts for Grceco and other foreign countries. It is said that emissaries of England, Franco, and Russia managed to buy np most of this material, and such as has already been completed has been shipped. When M. G. M. Schwab received his war contracts they were estimated to bo worth all tho way from 6,000,000 dollars to 100,000,000 dollars. The projectile department alone is able to turn out 3000 shedls a day. That Mr. Schwab's English war .contracts are successive is borne out by tlie fact that 20 English inspectors are stationed tliore and oxpect to remain there for two years. The Union Metallic Cartridge Company, of Bridgeport, has doubled its plant at a cost of 1,500,000 dollars. Two million rounds of ball cartridges are shipped daily from their plant, which empioys 10,000 hands. The Winchester Bepeatiiig Arms Company is one of tho busiest plants ill tho world to-day, and for sovoral months has worked a full force of six thousand employees on regular and night shifts. The company's buildings, which occupy a ground space as groat as almost any plant in the United States, have proved inadequate, and buildings costing over half a million dollars and providing for hundreds of thousands of additional feet of floor space are now in course of construction.